We are only one week into the college football season, and already, the world is turned upside down. While it was surprising, if not shocking, that No. 4 LSU lost their opener to Florida State in blowout fashion, what happened Monday night in Durham, North Carolina, definitely qualifies as shocking.
Perennial powerhouse and No. 9 ranked Clemson suffered an unthinkable loss to the most overlooked of opponents, and it wasn’t even close. Duke University, best known for academics and basketball, stunned the Tigers 28-7 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score suggested.
The Blue Devils, under second-year coach Mike Elko, bullied and bruised the Tigers on defense and often simply ran by them on offense, highlighted by quarterback Riley Leonard, whose 44-yard scamper helped put the nail in Clemsons’ coffin. It was the biggest margin of victory for Duke over Clemson since 1936.
After the game, coach Mike Elko sang his teams praises: “It’s important on the outside, because I think it makes people believe a little bit more what we’ve been saying since the day I got here. What we’ve been saying internally is this is what Duke football is capable of. We’ve never ever wavered from that at all.”
Elko spent his first season on Tobacco Road, rebuilding the team’s roster and competitive edge. Now in year two, he is seeking to build confidence, and it appears to be paying off. Duke defensive tackle DeWayne Carter underscored that confidence. He said: “We work out in the summer and train too. We condition too,” as he noted the Blue Devils refusal to wilt late on the big stage.
Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney said after the game: “We’re not entitled to win. We’ve got to go earn it. And we had plenty of opportunity to get control of that game on multiple occasions, and we just didn’t. And that’s how you get beat.”
In past seasons, a team the caliber of Clemson could almost literally just show up and still win games like this. No more, as Duke took the victory and raced past the Tigers in the new poll to land at No. 21, while the Tigers fell to No. 25.
Much of the blame can be hung on Clemson offensive coordinator Garrett Riley. The Tigers looked disjointed on offense, giving up the ball on multiple occasions, and even suffered two blocked field goals. Whether that is a coordinator problem or a head coaching issue, Clemson must figure it out fast or risk playing out the string in hopes that other top contenders suffer multiple losses as well.
For the Duke Blue Devils, not much was expected from the squad other than a step forward in Elko’s second season, but a little confidence is a dangerous thing, and if the second-year coach can keep the vibes good, and the injuries to a minimum, the sky may be the limit for the Blue Devils.
It is only a week in, but who thought Duke would be ranked above Clemson, LSU would be blown out, and Deion Sanders would inject new juice into a moribund Colorado Buffalo program? It stands to be an exciting season with new faces in college football, and that is a refreshing change.
Featured image screen grab from embedded YouTube video
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